


I Want You to Follow Right Behind Me

by used



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:55:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23500444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/used/pseuds/used
Summary: The development of Ellie and Dina, individually and together. With the occasional zombie madness.
Relationships: Dina/Ellie (The Last of Us), Dina/Jesse (The Last of Us), Ellie/Kat (The Last of Us)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 142





	1. Stranger in Jackson

**Author's Note:**

> I've loved the Last of Us for forever and have lurked on here for fanfic. But this is my first posted story on any site. I would love some constructive criticism!

**Spring 2034. ******

********

****

“Help! Help me! Please!”

Ellie is alerted by the shrill screams coming from the field in front of the gate of Jackson. She was on guard duty tonight and was hoping that no bullshit would happen. But.

“Help me!”

Ellie saw runners in the distance and quickly put the rifle up to her eye and shot them down. “Get the fucking gate open! Can you not hear that?” Her plea fell on deaf ears as Jesse stood there stupidly.

“We don’t know if she’s infected!” 

“We can get her checked out when we open that fucking gate!” 

“I’m sorry, Ellie, I won’t!”

Ellie grunted loudly in frustration and hurriedly climbed down the ladder of the watch tower. She made her way to the lever and Jesse stepped in front of her, “Get out of my fucking way, douche.” Ellie put her palm on Jesse’s shoulder and shoved him hard. He knew better than to fight back since he still has a scar from the last time.

Ellie yanked the lever down and the gate started to open, just in time for the stranger to rush through a mere fifteen seconds after. “Runners!”

“Shit!” Ellie turned around and almost met her fate when Jesse shot the Runner in the head. She looked at him and nodded thanks. Every gun toting individual in Jackson came at a full sprint to see what was going on. Luckily for them, the Runners had already been put out by the guard patrol.

“Close the fucking gate! Goddammit!” Tommy came barreling into the scene and after locking eyes with Ellie, he knew who the culprit was. Jesse pulled the lever up and gulped. He made his way back up the tower. “Do you know what you’ve done, Ellie? This place could be overrun with Runners any second! What if they were part of a herd? Did you think about that?” Tommy’s eyes were filled with an inferno. 

Ellie let his words go in one ear and out the other and turned her attention to the girl. But she could see that a circle of people had already started to surround her. “I’m sick of this, Joel!” Ellie heard Tommy speaking to a disoriented Joel who just arrived at the scene. She couldn’t make out anything else because of the buzz around her, voices ringing in her ears. She made it to the gathering in the center of the dirt road. The nervous girl stood hushed amidst all the action. Ellie noticed the cuts and bruises along her arms and face, that was all she could see. A nasty black eye adorned the right side of her oval face and a streak of rather fresh blood fell down the left almost catching her eye. 

“Alright, alright, everybody! Go back to your homes! Everything will be taken care of,” Tommy said to the crowd as Ellie gripped the girl’s bicep and walked her to the infirmary tents nestled near the gate, Tommy and Joel in tow. 

“Get Maria in here and you two can go through with the examination,” Tommy said to Ellie as she sat the girl on a cot.

Maria came in a few moments later with a pair of blue latex gloves on and a pair in her hands for Ellie. Tommy and Joel had already left the room and could be heard arguing outside of the tent. Ellie took the gloves from Maria and pulled them over her calloused hands. She looked over at the girl sitting on the cot, still as a statue. Stoic in every feature but her eyes. Ellie broke the silence, “So what’s your name?”

The girl looked at Ellie and her lips parted slightly, as if she was going to answer her question but she was cut off by Maria, “Ellie. You know the rules. Don’t ask names until after the examination. Much harder to kill something when you’ve got a name.” Just then the girl’s eyes widened as her pupils bounced between the blonde and auburn haired strangers staring at her. 

Ellie winced as if in an apology, offering a slight crooked smile to the girl on the cot. Like that would be any solace if the girl turned out to be infected. Ellie felt guilty whenever she had to perform these examinations especially if Tommy had to do an execution shortly after. She was immune and these people weren’t. _Why her? ___

____

__

“Strip,” Maria said curtly. Ellie felt sorrow creeping over her as the girl started taking off her articles of clothing. She didn’t notice anything significant about her injuries. Significant as in human bite shaped. She breathed a sigh of relief.

Maria took the reins during the examination. Ellie was more or less backup in case something went wrong. She was given a lot of responsibility despite being fifteen years old. Almost sixteen. Certain consequences followed her for being Joel’s adoptive daughter, and Tommy’s niece. Not to mention, Ellie being one of the most prominent fighters in Jackson, even over some of the boys her age. And even Jesse who had a miniscule growth spurt last year and thought he was a fucking God. Not quite Jesse, not quite. 

Ellie noticed the girl taking in a gulp of air as she held her breath during Maria’s examination. The girl lifted limbs when prompted and spread others. The humiliation seeped into her slowly, eventually causing her cheeks and the tips of her ears to turn a shade of crimson. Though there was nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed about. This was only routine after all. But a routine for some is not a routine for others. 

The girl redressed herself and Maria went to go fetch the medical supplies for her various wounds. “So, what’s your name now?” Ellie asked timidly, scanning the girl’s face for any sign of emotion. Coming up empty.

“Dina.” 

“Dina…” Ellie repeated. She let the name roll around her tongue for a few moments, “That’s a pretty name,” Ellie smiled and she swore she could see a tiny smile creep on Dina’s face. “My name’s Ellie.” 

“I wish we were meeting under different circumstances,” Dina said, “you know, without the end of the world and all.” 

Ellie chuckled, “Yeah, me too.” Dina smiled this time, happy to be among human beings for the first time in months. 

Maria returned with the suturing supplies, rubbing alcohol, and bandages. And got to work. By the time Maria had almost finished, Dina looked like a completely different person. She was a cute girl and stood about an inch taller than Ellie. 

Right then, a voice from outside the tent called out for Ellie. She walked outside to be confronted by Joel and Tommy. She could tell that he was still upset with her. But since Jackson has not fallen and no Runners or the like have been spotted since the gate opening fiasco, he can get the fuck over it.

“The houses in section six are still being remodeled, not really safe to live in yet,” Tommy started, “Should be finished in a couple weeks at best. So, this new girl—”

“Dina,” Ellie interjected.

Tommy took a deep breath, “Dina will have to stay with you and Joel until section six is complete.”

“She looks like she could use a friend, kiddo. Then she’ll be given her own house when the time comes,” Joel smiled and put a hand on Ellie’s shoulder. “Until then, she’s your responsibility.”

* * *

Ellie made herself comfortable on a small log on the outside of the medical tent. She needed some air after the events that had happened tonight. She wondered what time it was, _thank fuck I don’t have patrol in the morning _.__

____

____

She heard a small noise come from her left, the sound of fabric moving. Realizing that it was Dina coming out of the medical tent, Ellie turned and stood, “Hi.”

“Hey,” Dina replied.

“Looks like you’re staying with me and Joel until some houses are finished. Luckily for you, we happen to have a spare bedroom.” Ellie started walking down the dirt road, Dina caught on that she should be following.

“Cool,” Dina said.

“Do you ever say more than one sentence at a time?” Ellie asked.

“Well I did just have to get naked for people I’ve never met before. That tends to make someone feel a little humiliated.” 

“Eh,” Ellie shrugged, “You’ve seen one ass, you’ve seen ‘em all.” This made Dina laugh softly and Ellie looked at her under the glow of the orange streetlight. She noticed the curvature of Dina’s nose as it flowed into her lips.

Dina looped an arm through Ellie’s and Ellie sucked in a breath. Nervous all of a sudden. They turned the corner and were three houses away from Joel and Ellie’s. After a few more minutes Ellie said, “Well this is us.” She gestured to the semi-ramshackle of a house.

“Wow. I can’t even remember the last time that I had a roof over my head.” Dina said. 

“What’s mine is yours,” Ellie said as they walked through the threshold of the front door. Joel was in the kitchen, sitting at the dining table with his head in his hands. Ellie led Dina up to her room to find her some clothes. Dina’s were tattered and bloody. 

Dina sat on Ellie’s bed as Ellie sifted through her closet and drawers. “This looks good,” Ellie pulled out a simple black t-shirt with “METALLICA” written in a huge, sharp font on the front and a pair of gray sweatpants. 

Once Dina changed, Ellie showed her her room for the time being. It wasn’t too bad. There was a twin bed lying on a shabby wooden frame against the center wall with a side table and lamp on the right side of it. A scratchy rug laid out and covering the wooden flooring like carpet. Dina crinkled the tassels with her toes and took the sight of a bed in as tears threatened to fall down her pink cheeks. She sniffled.

“You okay?” Ellie asked from behind Dina. 

Dina turned to face the freckled girl and Ellie could see how misty Dina’s eyes were getting. Dina took a step towards Ellie and threw her arms around Ellie’s shoulders, enveloping her in a hug. Ellie’s eyes widened as she put one of her hands on Dina’s back. “Thank you,” Dina said, “Thank you for letting me in. I thought I was gonna die.” 

Ellie managed to shrug out of the hug and look at Dina with a toothy grin, “I don’t like leaving people behind. In fact, I’m sick of it.” 

Dina laid awake, staring at the ceiling for hours after Ellie and Joel had wished her goodnight. The slow shaking of the panes of glass in the window above her head made her nervous. It sounded like Clickers. Thoughts swirled around Dina’s head. The more sounds she heard, the more scared she got. Living in the wilderness for months made every sound suspicious, even in the thirty foot concrete walls of Jackson. 

“Ellie.”

“Ellie.” A slight poke this time.

“Ellie.” A series of shoves to her left shoulder startled Ellie out of sleep, “Wh-Wha?”

“Can I sleep in here with you?” 

Ellie opened her eyes and took a few blinks to wake herself. Dina was crouched in front of her face, her finger tips barely touching Ellie’s forearm. Dina’s eyes were red and her face was splotchy like she had been crying. Ellie scootched backwards to leave some space for Dina, “Sure.” 

“Thanks.” Dina said as she lifted the blankets to nestle into the warmth of Ellie’s presence. Dina heard Ellie’s breaths become shallow. She had fallen back asleep. Dina smiled and whispered goodnight as she closed her eyes, exhaustion overcoming her.


	2. Big Jim and the Termination Shock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dina gets a much needed tour from the best guide around, Ellie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I also apologize in advance for the slight Dina/Jesse in this chapter. I know we all came here for The Gays but, I think it’s important to see Dina’s relationship with Jesse and vice versa with Ellie and Kat. I did say it was going to get angsty ;)
> 
> Thanks again for reading!

**Spring 2034.**

**The Next Day.**

Dina stared at the steady stream of water pulsed out of the shower head in front of her. She stuck out her hand, feeling the warmth. The pellets against her skin made her smile. Absolutely enthralled.

“You know, it gets cold if you let it run for too long,” Ellie said as she brought Dina another change of clothes and set them on the counter top. Ellie stood there with her hands on her waist, “Seriously, it does.” 

Dina chuckled, “I know.” 

“Well then get your ass in the shower! We have a tour to commence!” Ellie walked out of the bathroom. After a few moments, she stuck her head back in, “Oh and Joel is making omelettes, I’ll tell him to get one for you.” 

The water was unbelievable. Dina couldn’t remember when she ever felt something so magnificent on her skin. Her head sat under the stream for what felt like forever. The steam fogged up the glass surrounding her and she used her pointer finger to make a smiley face in the condensation.

Ellie was right. The water does get cold. 

After she was dressed, Dina made her way to the stairs but stopped when she heard the hushed tones of her temporary housemates. 

“I cannot believe you did that, Ellie,” Joel sounded exasperated.

“So you want me to leave people abandoned out there? After everything we went through?” 

Dina was wondering what she was referring to. Ellie did seem to have a maturity about her. 

“She could have been—”

“Infected. Yeah, I know. But she isn’t. If we let her in, we would’ve had to have her examined anyway,” Ellie sighed. 

“When Tommy let us stay here, he put a lot of faith in the both of us. Doing something so reckless could have killed people. You know as well as I do that consequences are real and every action has them.” Joel’s jaw clenched so hard Ellie swore she could hear it crack under the pressure.

Ellie’s eyes combed over Joel’s face. He’s getting older and so is she, “I’m sorry, Joel.” 

He looked up at her and gave her a small smile in return and said, “It’s alright, kiddo. Just don’t make any more rash decisions.”

Ellie laughed, “Unfortunately, it’s in my DNA.”

Just then, behind the two, they heard the unmistakable creak of an ancient floor board. And then another. And then another. Dina made her way into the kitchen where Ellie and Joel were sitting. Ellie turned to her and smiled, “How was the shower? You were in there forever.”

“Oh my god, it felt good.” 

Dina scarfed down her omelette and the remaining fraction of Ellie’s and before she put sturdy boots on. Another donation to the Someone-Please-Dress-Dina Fund by the gracious Ellie.

The streets of Jackson were always bustling no matter the time of year or weather. Children hopped and played, forgetting that beyond the walls there was nothing but hopelessness. It was refreshing to Dina, and Ellie. It added a certain level of normalcy despite neither of them knowing what that really means. Being normal. 

The infirmary was packed as usual because of boys trying to prove themselves to their peers. Ellie rolled her eyes when they passed the tents and ran into Jesse. 

“Hey! Ellie!” Jesse jogged up to the pair of girls and laid on the charm. Or so he thought. “Who’s your friend?” He turned his attention to Dina, “Are you adjusting?” 

“Hello, cretin,” Ellie deadpanned, “This is D—”

“Dina!” The dark haired girl stuck out her hand so fast. If the air could yelp in pain, it would’ve. Ellie couldn’t believe Dina’s eagerness over this slime sack. Ellie thought she could fry an egg using the grease from Jesse’s hair. He wasn’t necessarily unkempt or even unshowered, his hair was just an unsafe length and caked in hair mousse. That isn’t an assumption, she’s seen his hair routine and fell asleep four times in the process. 

Jesse gripped Dina’s hand, “Jesse.” He winked. Ellie scrunched her face in disgust. She liked Jesse and they were even friends. She just thought he was foolish. 

“Thank goodness that you’re here now Dina. I’m sick of looking at this one’s ugly mug all the time.” Jesse threw a thumb back at Ellie who glared at him and socked him in the ribs.

“Shit!” Jesse clutched his side for a few moments before he shot Ellie a nasty look, “That hurt!”

“But your ego remains intact. A shame,” Ellie said. 

The pair was interrupted by the laughter of Dina and they couldn’t help but laugh themselves. Ellie held out her fist for Jesse to bump, which he did. 

After another five minutes of Jesse blathering on about patrols and sparing and blah, blah, Ellie said, “Okay Jesse, we better get going. I have a patrol shift at two so I have to get Dina back. I’m sure you can damage her ears another time.” 

“Oh, most definitely!” Perked Dina and flashed Jesse a big smile that Ellie hadn’t even received herself. That thought irked her for a mere ten seconds before she brushed it off. 

As the pair of girls walked away, Dina linked her arm with Ellie’s and leaned in close to her ear, “He’s cute, isn’t he?” The action made Ellie’s heart skip a beat. Ellie looked at her incredulously. “What?” Dina asked.

Ellie could see the joy in Dina’s eyes and for once in her life, she didn’t feel like extinguishing it, “Yeah, he’s cute I guess.” 

* * *

Dina was hanging onto every word that Ellie told her about their community in Jackson. She still couldn’t believe that she was finally in a safe place. Ellie showed her the shooting range and armory which seethed with weapons of all types. Each more deadly than the last. She got the privilege of smelling sausages hanging in a window on the dirt street and fresh bread baking across the way. Dina thought she had been in awe enough on the tour but was proven wrong when Ellie showed her the crop field. It wasn’t the biggest she’s seen nor the fanciest, but it was teeming with carrots, squash, zucchini, and all sorts of leafy greens. A parameter of wooden planks nailed together, holding sticks and straw surrounded the field to prevent the wind from uprooting the crops. If there were one true statement about Jackson, Wyoming, it would be that there was a shit ton of wind.

The last place Ellie took Dina was the stables. Several horses were in the building. A plethora of covered hay bales lay stacked against the wall opposite the girls. “I was looking forward to introducing you to Big Jim.” 

“Big Jim?” 

“Yeah, my horse,” Ellie paused, “Well no one technically owns a horse here, but he likes me best.” 

That made Dina smile, “What’s not to like?” 

Ellie blushed and walked towards a beautiful chocolate brown American Quarter Horse and ran her hand along his body. She stopped to pull a clump of dirt out of his jet black mane. Dina saw the look of admiration in Ellie’s eyes. Dina reached out a hand to touch Big Jim’s face. He flinched in return. Dina recoiled her hand as if she had just dipped it in poison. 

“Oh,” Ellie said and disappeared for a few moments, coming back with two carrots, “Try these.” Dina took the vegetables from Ellie’s hand and held one underneath Big Jim’s mouth. The horse gave the carrot a generous sniff and opened his mouth to munch.

“Fuck!” 

“What?”

“He got some of my skin,” Dina said, turning her palm to show Ellie. The auburn haired girl grabbed Dina’s wrist and examined her hand intently. A red spot decorated the skin of Dina’s palm. Ellie noticed that some blood vessels had popped from the force of Big Jim’s insatiable ravaging of the carrot. Ellie gingerly stroked her thumb on the sore and looked into Dina’s eyes sympathetically. 

“I’m sorry, that sucks. Here I’ll show you a trick.” Ellie dropped Dina’s hand and Dina found herself missing the contact. “Ahem,” Ellie grunted. Dina didn’t realize that the other girl was holding out her hand to receive the second carrot that Dina still had. 

Ellie accepted the carrot and broke it in half. She held her palm outstretched to its limit under Big Jim’s mouth. Big Jim’s teeth scooted across Ellie’s palm skin without catching any in his maw. “The trick is to stretch out your hand as much as possible so no skin is wrinkled enough for him to gnaw on.”

“Okay, I’ll try.” Dina pulled off Ellie’s trick with no epidermis trauma this time. Dina looked at Ellie with a smile creeping at the corners of her mouth. 

“Fuck yeah! Up top!” Ellie threw her arm up high.

“Fuck yeah!” Dina repeated and slapped her palm to Ellie’s, a thunderous clap resonating in the stables.

The pair circled back to the infirmary tents and Ellie explained that she had patrol in an hour and had to go get ready. “Can you handle yourself?”

“Yeah, I think so. Is your house that way?” Dina gestured down the street across from the tents of the infirmary. 

“Yes.”

“Sweet. Then yeah, I’m fine.” And with that Ellie was on her way back to the house to get properly equipped. 

“Hey you!” The voice came from the direction of the infirmary and she recognized it. Dina thought her name was Maria. The art of remembering someone’s name was obviously not high on Maria’s agenda. 

Dina spun around to meet the blonde woman. She was pretty intimidating. Though she only stood a few inches taller than Dina, her personality was a rather cold one to strangers. “Do you have any medical experience?” Maria asked. 

“I mean, I guess. I took care of the people in my group w-when they were alive but I’m not trained professionally or anything.” 

“None of us can be trained professionally when all the professionals are dead,” Maria winked and Dina thought that was a weird statement to wink after but decided to take the friendly gesture. “I could use your help in the infirmary. It’s the fastest way to earn your way into Tommy’s most trusted. It only took me marriage to get into his good graces. That and a child,” Maria laughed at her own joke and Dina joined her. 

Dina walked into the infirmary tents and spent the next couple hours stitching up cuts and wrapping sprains under the supervision of Maria. She hoped things would get more interesting, for her own morbid curiosity’s sake. It seems a god had answered her prayer, Jesse walked in covered in scratches, most notably a large cut on the right side of his face above his eyebrow. Dina stood and rushed over to him, “Hey! What the hell happened? We were just talking to you not two hours ago.” 

“Just a little scrap that turned for the worse,” Jesse laughed lightheartedly but clearly he was in pain. 

Dina proceeded to sit Jesse down on one of the cots in her tent and pulled over a stool for herself. She reached for the suturing kit and bandages. She then noticed a blood stain on Jesse’s abdomen. “I’ll need you to, uh, take off your shirt.” 

“Oh. Right. Almost forgot about that one. Have much better things to worry about now.” Jesse flirted and took off his shirt, revealing a muscled torso. Dina pretended to be occupied with sorting the supplies in the suturing kit. This consisted of picking up the thread and scalpel blades and switching them places a few times. That didn’t make her any less suspicious or nervous. 

Dina gulped and got a cloth, dousing it in some soapy water. She hovered her hand over Jesse’s abdomen before pressing it around the open wound. The gunk and dried blood surrounding the cut started lightening up. After a few more times around with the soapy rag, all that was left to do was suture it closed. 

“Wow, you’re really good at that.” Jesse complimented Dina on her suturing skills. Putting his fingers above his cut and tugged his skin up to see if the stitches would come apart.

“What’re you doing?”

“Had to verify your skill, rather than just give you an empty compliment. Now I can mean it genuinely.” 

Jesse smiled. And so did Dina. 

* * *

**Spring 2034.**

**A Few Weeks Later.**

Dina moved into her new house a short few weeks after arriving in Jackson. The style was similar to Ellie’s house in which some parts were entirely broken and others were almost broken. But Dina loved it anyway because it was hers. She thought it added character.

The movement process was done in the matter of an hour. What took the longest was the walk from Ellie’s house to hers which was a whole seven minutes. Dina’s belongings consisted of Ellie’s donated clothes and what she had come to Jackson with, which wasn’t much. The experience overall was enjoyable because she got to spend some more time with Ellie, Joel, and Jesse. Joel talked about how moving from one house to the other before the virus was some kind of hell on Earth because of all the shit people accumulated over the years. “These days, we don’t have much,” Joel had said before returning home.

Ellie set a bundle of firewood next to the brick fireplace in the center of Dina’s living room. She couldn’t fit anymore inside of it. 

“Thanks Freckles.” 

Ellie raised an eyebrow at the nickname, “You’re welcome...bitch.” 

Dina bursted out laughing, “That’s the best you could come up with?” Ellie laughed along with the dark haired girl and realized how much she enjoyed the sound. She wished it could pitch a tent inside her ear drums and stay forever. _Is that weird_?

There was a knock on the door and it was the King of Goo himself, Jesse. And much much worse than the boy, a bouquet of wildflowers sitting in a blue glass vase was nestled in his elbow. “I brought a housewarming gift!” He exclaimed as he crossed the threshold of the front door. Dina eagerly accepted the flowers and went to grab them. But not before planting a soft kiss on Jesse’s left cheek. She set the flowers on her shabby dining room table.

Ellie stared at Jesse, thinking about all the ways she could kill him and make it seem like an accident. She shook her head of those thoughts. _Why was she being like this_? 

Ellie made her way to her backpack that was resting against the staircase by the front door. She reached in and pulled out five comic books. “You know Dina, I also brought you a housewarming gift. I just didn’t think I would get one upped by douche fuck over there or I would have brought them out sooner.”

Dina rolled her eyes and sidled next to Ellie, “Are those comic books?”

“Not just any comic books! _Savage Starlight_!” Ellie fanned out the comics, shoving the sci-fi artwork in Dina’s face. Dina grabbed the comics and gazed at them fondly, glancing over to Ellie’s excited eyes. “Sorry I couldn’t give you all fourteen of them. I’m rereading the series for the third time this year so I need the other nine,” Ellie shrugged.

Dina turned abruptly and hugged Ellie and Ellie returned it. When Dina pulled away from Ellie’s arms, she said, “Okay, you can have one too.” Ellie looked at the dark haired girl quizzically.

Dina placed her lips on Ellie’s right cheek. Her lips were so soft like the inside of a rose. Ellie was sure she looked like a tomato, heat seeping into her face. 

“Oh.”

Ellie and Jesse weren’t much help with making sure Dina was all set because they took many moments to enter a full fledged arm wrestle. They stopped once Ellie finally lost, claiming it was because her arm was tired from winning.

“We better get going, Dina. I have patrol tomorrow morning with this idiot,” Ellie gestured to Jesse to which he nodded. Dina escorted them to the door once they had gathered their belongings. 

Dina gave Ellie a short hug which was accompanied with, “I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep without you next to me. But I’ll give it a shot.” Jesse’s eyes widened at the statement and Ellie was turning slightly red. 

“Um, yeah. You can always let me know and I can come sleep over,” Ellie rubbed the back of her neck still flustered from the previous comment. 

Dina watched as the two stooges turned on their heels and were leaving.

“She slept in your bed? Dude, what the fuck?” Jesse asked Ellie as they walked a few steps off Dina’s porch and onto the stretch of sidewalk to the driveway. His eyes were still the size of saucers.

Ellie gave a swift punch to Jesse’s left peck without stopping to check the damage.

“Ow, my boob!”

“You don’t have boobs, dumbfuck.” 

After Ellie and Jesse left, Dina lit a fire and grabbed the first issue of _Savage Starlight_. Her eyes scanned over the cover, “Termination Shock,” Dina said out loud to herself. There was a woman on the cover, Dr. Daniela Star, from what Dina gathered from the blurb on the back:

_Dr. Daniela Star dreams of deep space. In the year 2186, mankind has conquered the solar system, but the shackles of special relativity prevent them from going any further ._ Dina smiled as she read, crinkles forming by her eyes. 

That is so Ellie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will also be a year time jump between this chapter and the next. 
> 
> Also, even though the evidence is pretty damning, I have nothing against Jesse. ;)
> 
> Hope you’re all doing well!


	3. King Squish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellie and Dina go out on patrol together. And Ellie makes a realization.
> 
> Or
> 
> Ellie being a precious gayby for 3000 words.
> 
> The girls are 17 now since it has been a time jump. Jesse is 19. 
> 
> Thanks again for reading!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait for this! Life was crazy and then the game came out and I finished it and I am Suffering™
> 
> Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the chapter!

**Summer 2035.**

Ellie loved the way the sun danced on her skin. Perfect pirouettes upon freckled cheeks. She sat on the log outside the infirmary tents. The same log that she had sat on when Dina first came into Jackson. Ellie couldn’t believe that it had been a little over a year since then. 

She had learned a lot of things about Dina since she fell into Ellie’s life. Or ran, rather. Dina really digs the _Savage Starlight_ comics, at least Ellie thought she did. She wasn’t sure if Dina said she liked them out of politeness because she loved Ellie or just politeness. Dina also talked in her sleep, constantly. Talking about who injured who and who stole who’s supplies. Most importantly, Dina whimpered Ellie’s name from time to time. But the auburn haired girl tried to keep her mind out of the gutter. She was probably dreaming about Ellie kicking some ass. Probably. Ellie and Dina spent practically every waking second together besides the seconds that Dina spent with Jesse. Ellie even spent most nights with Dina...when she wasn’t with Jesse. The black haired boy started to take up more and more of Dina’s time. Ultimately and unfortunately, Ellie came to the conclusion that Dina liked Jesse.

A lot. 

There was no denying Dina’s beauty nor her equally enchanting personality. Every guy in Jackson wanted to spend just a little time with her. Those guys always gave Jesse and Ellie a hard time for all the attention they were getting from Dina. Attention she wasn’t giving anyone else. _Thank God_. 

Though, as of late, Ellie began to notice just how beautiful Dina was. Her flowing black hair when it so rarely dropped to tan shoulders. The nose that Ellie loved to boop from time to time. When Dina’s eyebrows rose and her forehead scrunched when Ellie said something particularly taunting, Ellie could swear she felt her heart skip a beat.

Ellie picked up a small stick and drew an “D” then a plus sign then a “E.” She encircled the equation with a heart. 

At this moment, Dina stepped out in her infirmary attire glory. This consisted of a plain t-shirt and slightly baggy cargo pants. Pockets aplenty.

“What’re you drawing, cutie?” Dina asked as she walked up to Ellie and looked down at her dirt masterpiece. 

Ellie scooted a little down the log so that Dina could see. The dark haired girl’s eyes traced around the simple doodle then followed up from Ellie’s shoes to the emeralds sitting around her pupils. 

“Oh, Ellie…”

Ellie stood and faced Dina with a cheesy grin. Ellie held out her arm for Dina to grab, which she did. And Dina laid her head on Ellie’s shoulder as they walked. “How was your shift? Are you ready for our patrol?” Ellie asked. 

“It was okay. Same shit, different day,” Dina said. “I do have some good news.”

“Oh?” 

“I had a break and finished the tenth  _ Savage Starlight _ .” 

“Took you long enough!”

Dina shoved Ellie’s shoulder, “You’re one to talk. It took you several months to give me the rest of the comics because you were too busy reading them for the hundredth time!” 

The pair laughed. When they reached Dina’s house, the dark haired girl ran in before Ellie. She had to wash the filth off of her before going and getting more on.  _ Makes total logical sense _ , Ellie thought. 

Ellie was getting herself a glass of water when Dina snuck up behind her with a swift jab to the rib cage with a pointed finger. The auburn haired girl jolted at the action and some of the water spilled out of the glass. Ellie turned to face Dina and noticed that Dina’s eyes were narrowed, “What the fuck?” 

“What?” Ellie was wondering why Dina was looking at her like that. Dina took two steps closer to Ellie. She could kiss her right now.  _ Wait, what _ ?

Dina brought her hand up to the top of her head. She then made a straight line from there to just below Ellie’s hairline. A karate chop.

“You’re taller than me!” 

“You haven’t noticed?”

“Why didn’t you tell me, Squish?” Dina pinched a chunk of Ellie’s cheek in between her thumb and index finger, tugging a few times. 

Ah yes, the cursed nickname. Dina had called Ellie just about everything under the sun a few times but Dina’s vocabulary was fond of two names: Freckles and Squish, much to Ellie’s dismay. Freckles came first. Dina had called her that when she had moved into her house but Squish was a rather new term. It referred to the fact that Ellie’s cheeks still had some baby fat that she hadn’t entirely grown out of. Or in Dina-speak, Ellie’s squishy wishy cheekie weekies.

There was a pause. Ellie spoke up.

“I like that you’re smaller than me. I can scoop you up like a lil baby.” Ellie stuck out her hands to tickle Dina’s stomach to which Dina recoiled. “I’ve got you now!” Ellie shouted as she wrapped one arm under Dina’s knees and the other behind her back, scooping her up bridal style. 

“Ellie!” Dina laughed, weakly hitting her fists against Ellie’s chest and shoulders. 

Once the adrenaline died down, Ellie found it easy to get lost in Dina’s eyes. 

“Shit. Dina, what time is it?”

“Oh,” Dina peaked at her watch. “Half past three.” 

Another pause.

The girls’ eyes widened in unison, “Patrol!” Ellie reluctantly set Dina back on her feet and they sprinted towards the stables. 

* * *

Ellie saddled up on Big Jim and adjusted the backpack on her shoulders. She looked over at Dina who was fixing the pistol holster around her leg. Tight brown leather gripped a tone thigh. Ellie’s eyes wandered around Dina's legs for a few seconds but looked away fast when she realized she was leering. Ellie felt a pit in her stomach but shook the feeling before bringing Big Jim to a slow trot, waiting for Dina to catch up. 

Dina and Dynamite, a brown Cleveland Bay horse, made their way to Ellie’s side. Dynamite was Dina’s choice of horse. Ellie was grateful because Big Jim was nothing more than a show pony with some serious stamina. Ellie loved the horse but it was the truth. And for what Big Jim lacked in strength was made up by Dynamite. Ellie always thought that Dynamite looked like Callus. 

“You ready?” Dina asked as the gate began to open.

“As I’ll ever be. We’re just going ten miles southwest, shouldn’t take too long.” 

Dina started galloping ahead of Ellie. Big Jim was starting to pick up the pace and Ellie felt the wind throughout her body. The tiny hairs at the base of her neck tickled and goose pimpled. Each thud of Big Jim’s hooves on the grassy plains of Jackson made Ellie feel alive. Even if for a few moments. 

“I wanna pull off ahead for a minute! Next to that car!” Ellie called up to Dina who was about twenty feet ahead of her. 

“‘Kay!” Dina veered off to the right following an incline before halting at the rusty car. Ellie joined her soon after, dismounting Big Jim. 

“This is my favorite spot,” Ellie said.

Dina was off Dynamite at this point and walked to join Ellie. The rusty car was almost sitting at the top of a hill. All of Jackson could be seen from this one spot.

Ellie climbed up onto the hood of the car, hearing it creak under her weight. Her shoes made a clunk. She stood on the roof of the car, looking beyond at the grand plains below her. Ellie thought it would be nice to live in Jackson under different circumstances. Joel always said that it was one of his favorite places to go on vacation.

“I’m sure the view is nice but I have a pretty good one from down here,” Dina said while looking up at Ellie’s figure. Ellie’s eyes widened as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She smiled. Redness crept up from her neck, nestling on her cheeks. 

“I’m just kidding, Squish. No need to get flustered.” 

_ Oh _ , _ you’re just kidding _ ?

Ellie took off the jacket around her waist and tied it around her neck like a cape. She turned to Dina, feeling extraordinarily brave from the moment that Dina and her had just shared, “Before we get going on our perilous journey, I demand you to come with me utop this here... hither... motor vehicle,” Ellie said with a hint of faux boast.

Dina raised an eyebrow with her arms crossed. A smile teased the corners of her mouth.

Ellie stuck out her hand this time. “By royal decree, you are required to dance with me! You must obey your King!”

“You’re such a dork,” Dina rolled her eyes but accepted Ellie’s hand anyway. With a few steps, Dina was standing right beside Ellie. Their hands are still interlocked. Ellie made a move to grab Dina’s other hand too. She brought the hand up to her shoulder and laid it there. Their bodies pressed together. Ellie’s breath hitched. She couldn’t think, speak, breathe, or feel anything but Dina’s presence. Everything that wasn’t Dina was becoming blurry, censored. It was almost becoming too much to bear.  _ What was happening to her _ ?

They started swaying to music that wasn’t playing and dancing a dance that didn’t exist. But it felt perfect. Ellie hadn’t been paying attention to her two left feet as she proceeded to step on Dina’s toes for the third time. 

“You are a really bad dancer.” Or, perhaps, Ellie was entranced with the other girl and wasn’t paying attention to where she placed her feet. Probably the latter. 

Their faces were a mere six inches apart. Ellie felt the heat from Dina’s breathing hitting her lips. The pit in her stomach from earlier hadn’t left but instead grew bigger. Ellie noticed that Dina’s attention lingered on her lips for just a second too long before meeting back at eye level. An observation that made Ellie more nervous than she had ever been. Her palms started to feel clammy and her head felt fuzzy. She had to put a stop to this. As much as she didn’t want to. But she was sure that if this kept up, she would die and Dina would have to drag her corpse back to Joel.

“You know,” Ellie started, taking her hands out of Dina’s and making her way off the car, “We should, um, get going. We aren’t supposed to be fucking around, anyway.” Ellie made a sudden movement to yank the jacket from around her neck.

Dina stood on the roof of the car, watching Ellie get on Big Jim and look ahead stoically. “Are you coming? Or are you going to stay on that car forever? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure I have a tent in my bag if you wanna pitch it or something,” Ellie barked.

Dina looked at Ellie with her eyebrows raised. Ellie knew Dina was making that face without even looking at her. She was trying to shake the feeling that she should look at Dina right now. If she were to do that, her resolve would crumble and her defenses would dissolve. And she couldn’t let that happen. Especially being as confused as she is in the moment. 

“Um, I don’t know what just happened there but I do know that you don’t have to be an asshole.” 

Ellie squeezed Big Jim with her legs and he lurched forward before picking up to a trot.

This girl is going to be the death of Dina. She swore it.

* * *

“Okay. Do you remember what we look for when we are on patrol? Gimme the acronym.” Ellie asked Dina as the pair looked upon the ruined building before them. They had truly scored a jackpot. An old automotive shop. 

“BLT,” Dina said.

“Great. Now what do the letters stand for? Besides a delicious sandwich.”

Dina glanced over at Ellie in amusement but the auburn haired girl was expressionless. Ellie felt Dina’s gaze on her but refused to indulge in contact. Dina wondered how Ellie could be so serious yet still act like herself. Which was sarcastic and goofball-y.

“Bags. Lights. Tools.” 

“Very impressive. Glad one of us pays attention during the weekly briefings. As if I could forget it. Sometimes I think I’ll wake up in a cold sweat from a nightmare of Tommy scarfing down the sandwich while chanting,’” Ellie shook her head with a shudder, “So scary.”

Dina chuckled. “Are you ready to go in, Squish?” 

Ellie got up from her kneeling position and tucked her binoculars into her backpack. “As I’ll ever be. Come on.” 

She walked towards the decrepit building, hand hovering above her pistol which was tucked into her waist holster. The thigh holsters that Dina wore couldn’t fit around Ellie’s sinfully muscular thighs. At least that’s what Ellie said. 

The glass storefront door had been shattered long ago. So the two girls walked through. The glass shards crunched under their shoes. Every step felt like a death sentence that had Ellie cringing at the sound. She turned to look at Dina, “Keep your eyes peeled, D.” 

“Always.”

Just then, as if on cue, they heard the unmistakable sound of a Clicker. The pair stopped in their tracks. Ellie moved her hand from her pistol to the machete that was strapped to her backpack. She gripped the handle, pulling it out of its hefty sheath. Dina did the same with her pocket knife. There were two Clickers wandering the car bay. 

“Okay, you take the one on the left and I’ll take the one on the right,” Ellie whispered and Dina nodded in response.

Ellie sprung into action and crept over to the Clicker and rose to its height and grabbed the machete with both hands as she brought it behind her head for a powerful swing. Ellie made the hit connect with the Clicker’s neck. The Clicker screeched and swung its arms dramatically. Ellie hurriedly made a second swing, bringing the Clicker down.

Ellie turned to the commotion from the other side of the room as she saw Dina take the Clicker from behind and dig the knife into its neck. Dina kept the knife in until the Clicker was sprawled on the floor, motionless. 

The two made eye contact and Ellie brought a single finger up to her lips. After a few moments of complete silence, they figured that they were alone in the building, for now. “We better hurry up. We’re losing daylight and who knows if more will be here.” 

The pair separate to look through every nook and cranny of the automotive shop. Though they were across the room from each other, Dina still made an effort to steal glances of Ellie. The auburn haired girl remained the same as before. Not showing her usual expressions but stayed blank. Dina could tell that there was a whirlpool of thoughts in Ellie’s head. She was Ellie’s best friend after all.  _ Why wouldn’t she tell her when something was bothering her _ ? 

After about thirty minutes of deafening silence, Dina was missing Ellie’s quips and banter. She decided to break the silence, “What is going on with you?” The tone of her voice was leaning toward nonchalant as a means of getting an answer from Ellie. She knew better than to pry for too long before Ellie shut down immediately. 

“I’m not sure what you mean,” Ellie said, picking up a package of light bulbs and grimacing at the realization that they were all broken. 

“Alright. If you don’t wanna tell me then fine. But I know something is wrong.” Dina threw up her hands in defeat.

Ellie looked over at Dina who was leaving the shop. She followed the shorter girl out of the door, “If you must know—”

Dina spun on her heels to face Ellie, folding her arms, “And I must.” 

Ellie sighed, “I really don’t know what is happening with me. I’m quiet because I’m just trying to figure it out myself.” She shrugged.

“Did I do something to upset you?”

“What? No, no! It’s all me. Self sabotage is my middle name,” Ellie offered Dina a toothy grin. She got a small smile in return.

“We should get going. We probably have an hour or two of daylight left,” Dina said.

* * *

On the way back, Ellie had been in a sort of pretend better mood. She apologized to Dina for being an asshole. Relief washed over her when Dina didn’t think twice before forgiving her. Ellie knew she would, anyway. The average amount of forgiveness that could fit inside the human body was immense inherently but Ellie figured that Dina had double, no, quadruple that amount within her. 

Arm in arm, Ellie was about to turn the corner onto Dina’s street when she felt a tug at her elbow. The pair had stopped walking.

“Will you, uh, take me to Jesse’s?” Dina asked nervously.

“Wha—Jesse’s?”

“Yeah.”

“Uh, sure,” Ellie led them towards Jesse's street and turned the corner. “So, what’re you guys gonna do?”

“You know, stuff,” Dina said nonchalantly and shrugged.

“Sex stuff?” 

Dina managed to slip her arm from Ellie’s. The taller girl found herself missing the contact and wanting it back immediately and immensely.

Dina stood in front of Ellie, her arms on her waist, “And what if we were?” The dark haired girl raised an eyebrow.

Ellie’s face grew ten shades of crimson and she rubbed the back of her neck with a calloused hand. “W—Well I mean, are you?” She stuttered over her words, making her face turn redder. If that were possible.

“I don’t know, I mean if one thing leads to another. He is super hot.” Dina shrugged and started walking down the street, expecting Ellie to follow. She does.

Dina noticed that Ellie was disgruntled at the conversation but decided it was best if she kept her mouth shut. She was sure that it was linked to the bad mood from earlier. Jesse’s house was on the right. They had made it there in silence. 

Dina stood on the wooden porch while Ellie remained on the lawn.

“I hope you feel better, Squi—er—King Squish.” Dina bent her knees and curtsied to Ellie. When she rose and her eyes met Ellie’s, she winked. 

Ellie’s heart skipped a beat and her knees felt as though they were going to collapse beneath her. Despite her limbs feeling heavy, Ellie bowed in return. The fuzziness returned to Ellie’s head. She hoped Dina wouldn’t notice if her entire brain exploded right then.

“How can a mighty king such as yourself bow to a peasant like me?” Dina feigned surprise, a hand covering her chest in mock disbelief. She turned on her heels, giving the door a knock and turned back to face Ellie. 

“Well I could promote you to be my queen, if you want,” Ellie shrugged and smiled. 

“I’d like that,” Dina’s eyes had shown something that Ellie hadn’t seen before. She couldn’t quite figure it out. 

The door opened and Jesse stood in the doorway. Ellie was brought back from their little world to the realization that Dina would be spending the night with Jesse. She felt like punching him in his stupid face. Dina hugged him. Ellie felt awkward watching this, feeling like she should start heading back home. 

“Hey cutie,” Jesse said and gave Dina’s butt a squeeze.

Ellie’s eyes widened at the contact and she heard Dina scold him for it.

“Oh, hey Ellie,” the bastard had the nerve to say hi to her after touching Dina like that.

“Hey douche,” Ellie retorted.

“See you later, Freckles. Have a good night,” Dina said and walked into the house. 

“See ya,” Ellie said and the door shut, leaving Ellie in the dark without Dina’s light shining upon her.

Ellie rushed home. She was not feeling well. Her stomach was twisting in knots and her muscles felt sore from the tension she was holding in on the entire patrol. She made it to her and Joel’s home before she could find the opportunity to pass out. She was pretty sure that she was having heart palpitations. Or going into cardiac arrest. Ellie’s eyes widened at the thought,  _ is she dying _ ?

Probably not.

She hurried upstairs to her room and slammed the door shut, needing just a few moments to breathe. To just fucking breathe. If she could. She flopped down on the bed, earning a groan from the old, tragic springs. Ellie gripped her pillow and brought it over her face. She let out a yell of frustration.  _ What was going on with her _ ?

Everything that happened today began to dance around her head space, leaving footprints of clarity. When she had picked Dina up in her arms, when they were on top of the car, when Dina said she wanted to be Ellie’s queen. The way that Dina made Ellie feel was something she hadn’t felt in a really long time. Not since Riley.  _ Riley _ …

It dawned on her like grey, thick clouds before a storm. This murky swamp that had been overhanging her all day was disappearing. 

Oh fuck.

She was in love with Dina.

**Author's Note:**

> Until next time! Stay safe and stay indoors (if you're able)!


End file.
